Esmail Baghaei
Head of the Center for Public Diplomacy and Spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
For me and many graduates of law and international relations whose knowledge and assessment of international developments and events are based on concepts such as the principles and objectives contained in the United Nations Charter, international legal norms and rules, peremptory norms of international law, the principle of preventing the use of force or the threat of force, and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, these days have been full of ambiguity and philosophical contradiction – if not to say they are extremely desperate days. In fact, everything that we have spent the most precious moments of our lives learning, interpreting and explaining has been put to a severe test this year.
With the passing of a year since the beginning of a new phase of genocide in occupied Palestine, and coinciding with the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, it is a valuable opportunity to honestly reflect on the function of this organization and the norms and institutions emanating from it.
Who would have thought that in the 21st century, 79 years after the founding of the United Nations, an entity that is in fact one of the first – of course unwanted and ill-fated – products of this organization, could so brazenly challenge all its principles and objectives, tear up its founding document as a sign of disrespect, and call its Secretary-General an undesirable element and insult him? In addition to killing 230 of its employees in one year, and using the Secretariat of the organization for threats and intimidation?!
And who would have imagined that at a time when more than two decades have passed since the founding of the International Criminal Court – the court that was supposed to put an end to impunity and prevent the commission of international crimes – and in light of the global hope for the existence of the Criminal Court and the criminalization of four international crimes as a guarantee to prevent their recurrence in the 21st century, the most heinous crime, genocide, could become normal before our astonished eyes, and continues to this day.
The explosion of the pagers has caused everyone to panic about how barbaric and primitive man is without limits and without mercy. Turning the technology of communication between humans into a means of killing, as much as it is an evil, immoral and indefensible plot, is considered a very dangerous innovation in the dictionary of war and hostility. How many innocent children who were aiming to please their parents with their childish dances have responded eagerly to the sound of the pager, to receive a kiss from their father, but they got nothing but pain, wailing, tears, fear and small hands severed by a demonic and disgusting explosion.
In the past year, we have realized that cruelty, when combined with racist narcissism and ideological superiority, creates an insatiable thirst for killing, burning and destruction, and generates a strange ability to justify brutality.
The depth of the human tragedy, the breadth and continuity of the violations, the extent of the brutality and killing and the scale of the massive destruction that has occurred over the past year in Gaza and now in Lebanon, have not only expanded the boundaries of human barbarism to an unprecedented level in the history of human cruelty, and have displayed new manifestations of human creativity and diabolical innovation in killing his own kind, but have also caused a semantic shift and created a new and naked image of this rhetorical concept that has been formed until now by turning reality upside down as a human civilization (or rather Western civilization) in the minds of the peoples of the world. A civilization that has become more clearly falsified, racist, arrogant, justifying injustice, devoid of fairness and justice, submissive to power and cruel to the oppressed.
This year, the sincerity of the human rights advocates in North America and Western Europe has been questioned more than at any time in the past eighty years, and the authenticity of their flimsy view of human rights has become more apparent.
The statement of Jürgen Habermas, the famous German philosopher who has long been known as a philosopher of morality, peace and tolerance, in his explicit support for the Zionist genocide, left no doubt in this area.
Although the issuance of such a statement by Habermas was unexpected for many, his position was a clear sign of the unity of the Western philosophical and political outlook towards the “non-Western man” and the nature of racism and nationalism in Western philosophy and politics. In other words, Habermas’ statement, despite being a manifestation of the decline of Western morality, is completely in line with the German government’s policies of supporting Israel and participating practically (militarily, financially and politically) in the killing of Palestinians.
This year, “the world woke up from the slumber of European nationalist philosophy.” Today, we owe this freedom to the suffering peoples of Palestine. The Palestinians, with their courage and sacrifice, have exposed the barbarity of Western civilization. But what happened to the United Nations, its goals, hopes and institutions emanating from it because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the aggression against Lebanon and other countries in the region?
* The status of the United Nations has been eroded in an unprecedented manner
Over the past year, the credibility of the entire United Nations system, its structure and institutions, and the systems, rules and norms emanating from it has been questioned in an unprecedented manner.
The function and status of the United Nations as an organization based on a set of lofty principles and goals to revive the civilization lost as a result of two world wars that had no source other than the West, and the international legal system emanating from the United Nations Charter have been eroded in an unprecedented manner.
This has put both the whole and the function of the international legal system and post-war institutions in serious question.
This year, the principles and goals of the United Nations Charter, the principle of preventing the threat or use of force, the principle of upholding human rights and all the norms and foundations emanating from these principles and goals have been ridiculed by one member of the United Nations, while the influential players have appeared only as spectators or even supporters.
* More than 230 UN employees killed
The Prime Minister announced the Zionist entity announced its decision to use force and genocide the Palestinians and attack Lebanon in an unprecedentedly brazen manner in the UN General Assembly Hall, threatened regional countries with force, and issued orders to attack and assassinate from the UN headquarters.
The Zionist entity’s ambassador insulted the UN Secretary-General and tore up the UN Charter as a sign of disrespect for the organization, and the entity’s Foreign Minister described the UN Secretary-General as an undesirable element, and of course the entity’s military carried out a mission to insult and belittle the UN organization and killed more than 230 UN employees in one year.
The latest measure in the series of measures taken by the occupying entity to erase the Palestinians from the land of their fathers and grandfathers is the decision of the Israeli Knesset to completely ban the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, which is tantamount to depriving the Palestinian people of the only available opportunity to benefit from the most basic human rights.
* Blatant violations
In the past, the principles of the UN Charter were considered lofty goals. Now, after a year of blatant and continuous violations of these principles, without the occupying power bearing the slightest consequences, they seem nothing more than a set of unattainable wishes.
The international human rights and humanitarian law system was the first victim of genocide and brutality during the past year. This year, with the slaughter of children and women in Gaza, the massacre of journalists, the deliberate attacks on hospitals and relief centers, the destruction of mosques, churches and historical sites, and the sabotage of civilian infrastructure… all of which are fully protected under international law, a fatal blow was dealt to the body of international humanitarian law and it was thrown into a coma.
With every child killed in Gaza, the solid pillars of the rules governing conduct in armed conflict were shattered, and with every rocket and bomb that fell on a hospital or relief center, part of the ceiling of humanitarian law collapsed. The genocide in Gaza is the most severe and blatant manifestation of the gross and systematic violation of human rights.
* Ignoring the most basic human rights
The right to life, as one of the most basic human rights, was completely ignored this year, and the Palestinian people were subjected to the most heinous methods of killing and genocide. Gaza was an arena for a blatant and horrific violation of all human and legal standards at once.
Anyone who managed to survive the bombing and bullets faced an even more horrific situation as a result of the complete blockade on food, medicine and health care. The large number of children, women and men who lost their lives due to hunger, disease and lack of basic medicines confirms this painful reality.
It is astonishing that during these thirteen months, due to inaction or obstruction by Western countries claiming human rights, the Human Rights Council failed to even hold a special session to discuss the human rights situation in Gaza!
The genocide in Gaza has serious consequences for the credibility and standing of the International Court of Justice as a judicial body of the United Nations. The Zionist entity has brazenly ignored, with confidence in the support of the United States, six interim orders from the International Court of Justice to prevent genocide and to provide the Gazan people with access to the necessary humanitarian aid.
* Gross violations of humanitarian law
Of course, the big and sad question arises as to how the International Court of Justice did not issue a ruling to stop the military operations of the Zionist entity despite sufficient evidence of the occurrence of genocide in Gaza, and instead contented itself with a gentle call for the Zionist soldiers not to commit crimes of genocide?!
Over the past year, in parallel with the blatant and unprecedented violations of humanitarian law that are considered war crimes, multiple examples of crimes against humanity and genocide have occurred continuously. All of these types of crimes, in addition to the crime of “aggression”, have been criminalized in the International Criminal Court system, and despite the Zionist entity not being a member of the court, there are necessary mechanisms such as the referral of the case by the Security Council or the entry of the Prosecutor of the court to prosecute and try the leaders of the entity.
* Crimes committed in the Palestinian territories
In addition, since January 2015, the Palestinian National Authority has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court regarding crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories by registering a declaration with the court in accordance with Article (3) 12 of its Statute.
While the ICC prosecutor requested in May 2024 an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Galant on charges of crimes against humanity, no practical progress has been made to date in prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes, and the prosecutor and the court judges have been subjected to blatant threats and blackmail by Israel and the United States in various ways.
* Doubts about the will of the ICC
US President Biden personally attacked the ICC prosecutor in harsh terms, and the prosecutor himself has been subjected to harassment moves by Israel and Mossad files against himself and his family. In the latest development, Karim Khan has been accused of sexually harassing an employee, while this is said to be a dirty move by the Mossad to pressure Karim Khan and the ICC.
At the same time, Julia Motoc, the head of the Romanian section of the court responsible for examining the arrest request for Netanyahu and Galant, has resigned from this position.
However, doubts are growing about the ability or will of the ICC and its members to resist the illegitimate pressures of Israel and its Western allies, as well as about the serious and expected movement by the majority of the international community towards preserving the credibility and respect for international law and prosecuting and punishing the leaders of the Zionist entity.
Over the past year, the status of the International Committee of the Red Cross and its humanitarian mission have been distorted based on the principle of “neutrality,” which many consider a kind of unjustified “indifference” to the apparent genocide of the Palestinians.
Yenin. In addition, the noticeable failure of the International Red Cross to respond to repeated requests from the Palestinian side for assistance has demonstrated a clear shortcoming.
The clear difference in positions, including the use of expressions and words that raise suspicions about the International Red Cross’s bias in favor of Israel, raises serious concerns about the possibility that this organization is influenced by the political-philosophical outlook of Western countries regarding the Palestinian issue. NGOs defending Palestinian rights believe that the International Red Cross has suffered from a kind of bias or at least an unbalanced “sympathy” in favor of Israel from the beginning.
For example, in the statements of the International Red Cross, Hamas attacks on Israel have been condemned several times and explicit requests for the release of “hostages” have been made directly to Hamas.
While this organization completely avoids addressing Israel directly, and uses anonymous verbs to refer to Israel’s actions and crimes, at the same time it uses the term “detainees” to refer to the thousands of Palestinians who are often arrested without any charge or trial, and are held under the worst conditions in horrific prisons as a means of pressure and blackmailing their families.
The term “all parties” is also frequently used in the statements of the International Red Cross to demand an end to the conflict or adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law.
While there is no proportionality between the nature and killing capacity of the Zionist entity as an occupying party on the one hand, and the nature of the resistance and the capacity of the Palestinian party as a nation under occupation on the other hand, or even Hamas, which uses the simplest means to defend itself.
In this case, “equality” or the suggestion of equality between the two parties provides a legal cover to justify the severe crimes committed by the Zionist entity and its Western supporters, which somewhat completes the media propaganda against the Palestinian people and resistance groups.
Here I must mention two other international institutions that were expected to play a decisive role in stopping the genocide: the World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The response of the World Health Organization, as the body responsible for health and treatment at the international level, to the multiple and ongoing attacks by Israel on hospitals, relief centers and medical personnel, and the brutal killing of patients and the injured inside hospitals, has been meager and ineffective.
* The aggressor and perpetrator of the war crime
The response of this organization to the destruction of the Baptist Hospital on 26 Muhar 1402 (October 18, 2023) which resulted in the killing of more than 500 patients and health workers is a striking example; the World Health Organization merely condemned this attack without mentioning the name of the aggressor and perpetrator of this war crime, namely Israel, or demanding that its attacks be stopped. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also followed the same approach.
While Israel officially pursues the policy of forcibly displacing the population of Gaza, this commission criticizes Hamas and blames the international community for not taking action against the displacement of Israelis.
The result is that the repetition and continuation of brutality and barbarism in occupied Palestine and Lebanon has made many feel numb and indifferent. The human conscience, which is considered the most important obstacle to the spread of evil and evils, is exposed to the waves of “justification” by Western supporters of Israel, which exposes it to self-deception and denial of the severity of crimes.
Now, the danger of banalizing evil and the normality of crime threatens human civilization more than ever. Edward Herman, in explaining the “banalization of evil”, speaks of “presenting the unreasonable as normal” and “carrying out terrible acts” in an organized and systematic manner based on normalization.
This is the same trend in which ugly and humiliating acts and crimes that cannot be expressed become normal and are accepted as a matter of course and an existing reality.
* What should we do?
If we accept that the powerful, dominant and arrogant states with colonial and interventionist records are the beneficiaries of chaos and lawlessness on the global level, then we must appreciate the existence of the United Nations, its principles and objectives and work to protect them.
Iran, as one of the 51 founding countries of the United Nations, has always believed in and adhered to its principles and goals. Despite all the harm and injustice we have suffered from this organization under the influence of the exploitation of its powerful members, we have never raised our hand against the face of the United Nations.
We, despite being under the most severe sanctions of the Security Council, have never violated the UN Charter, killed peacekeepers, insulted the UN Secretary-General or considered him an undesirable element, or insulted the affiliated and specialized institutions and organizations of the UN. Of course, the Iranian people, as a civilized, educated, noble, forward-looking, aware, responsible and patient nation, are not expected to do otherwise.
The world needs a coalition to stop the evils, violations and killings of Israel. In the current situation, everyone must preserve the UN, its principles and humanitarian goals and be afraid of violating them.
Israel’s severe and anti-human evils and crimes must not lead to the “banality of evil” and the “ordinaryness of evil”, nor must they raise doubts about humanitarian and moral principles. Cases of violation of the UN Charter and international law must be precisely identified by the international community, and the ugliness and actions of the Zionist entity and its supporters and justifiers must be made clear to public opinion. Crime and evil must not be allowed to become ordinary, or worse, to become a norm. Actions and acts that violate the principles of the Charter, human rights and humanitarian law must not be considered part of the rules and standards of international law. The achievements of human civilization in the field of human rights and humanitarian law must be preserved. States and other actors committed to international law and international institutions must launch a joint campaign at the level of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations to implement the interim orders of the International Criminal Court.
International justice and to stop the genocide of the Palestinians, and to support the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding the arrest and trial of the leaders of the Zionist entity on charges of committing crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
At the same time, we must demand from international institutions such as the International Red Cross, the World Health Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNESCO, and others, and strive to get them out of the state of indifference and inertia towards the crimes of the Zionist entity. We must make them understand that remaining silent in the face of the genocide in Gaza with a conservative interpretation of the concept of neutrality is not an ethical matter. In light of the spread of evil everywhere, neutrality is in itself indifference, and indifference is a partnership in evil.
In short, every human being bears the responsibility to confront the process that targets humanity and human dignity.
